Obviously, my first thought was of the tortoise, which I often write about when it comes to my steady forward march in life.
But then again, there is the Loud Mouth Frog…
or Chatty Cathy, but she is more of a doll than an animal…
In the past I was akin to a Wolverine, all growly and snarly, with an aggressive attitude…
Of late, however, I’ve begun to see myself surfacing in some creatures you may be familiar with… let’s see…
There’s a mouse I can sometimes relate to…
While at other times I feel a bit Squirrelly…
Anywhere in between, you may find me looking a bit more creative…
Last but not least, there are those days where I just feel more bossy and fussy…
How could I ever forget to remind you of my ability to fling commas, and the like, all, over, everything………,,,, ,,,,,””””: … Just saying! I know she is not an animal, but she is an imaginary creature of sorts… and this is my blog, so I get to put whatever I want in here!
As there are simply too many different animals for me to choose from, I am unable to pick just one. I have mentioned on multiple occasions that I am a maelstrom of emotions, so it stands to reason that I should be able to pick all of the above, just to cover all my bases. Wouldn’t you agree?
Here, have a Wookie cookie to go with my crazy answer…
I made the goggles out of Oreos, so I know it’ll taste delish!
No, that’s not right. I believe the English language rule states that it’s i before e, except after c’s. What I’d like to know is why? If they both sound the same, why on earth are we throwing in a complicated if and or but with these words. Didn’t anybody ever hear of the adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” ? I’ve heard of it!
Before I get myself in an unnecessary bother, maybe we should first ask Mr. McGoogle to try and work out the problem.
Question #1 should be to establish what the actual rule states. No one should go on here say about a thing, but should instead seek the facts. Let’s do this…
According to the AI Overview,
In the English language, a common mnemonic spelling rule is: “I before E, except after C“.
However, the full, more accurate rhyme often includes: “…or when sounded as ‘ay’ as in neighbor or weigh”.
Key Details Regarding the Rule:“Cie” Words: Sometimes ie follows a c anyway, such as in science, glacier, ancient, and sufficient.
The “C” Exception: When the i and e combination follows a c, the order is usually ei (e.g., receive, ceiling, deceive, conceit).
The “Ay” Exception: When the ei combination makes a long “a” sound (like “ay”), e comes before i (e.g., neighbor, weigh, vein, sleigh).
Other Exceptions: There are many words that break this rule, such as weird, seize, leisure, protein, and foreign.
So, ok, I can agree with this ruling as long as it can be clearly determined by the pronunciation of the word. That part makes sense, but what screws everything up is the fact that there are so many varying accents from differing nationalities. What then? Unless one is prepared to pull up a voice modulator every single time one of these words come up, the margin for error is incredibly wide… in my humble antsy opinion.
I suppose if we only had a handful of words that utilized this particular linguistic merry-go-round, it wouldn’t cause me such aggravation. But guess what? The English language is smothered in the ie, ei, except after c, or ay rule. Not just that but we get to also separate words like weird, seize, leisure, protein, and foreign, as these words break all the rules. What’s an ant to do, here?
Well, figure things out is what I need to do, if I’m to make a top-notch journalist! If children can learn it, then so too can an ant… this ant, to be exact!
I know it’s rather childish, but what do I care… if it sells furry babies, I’m in!
Seriously, if there was an opportunity for a shopping spree of any kind, I’d pick a farm and garden store. Something like Farm and Tractor Supply, or one of those feed stores that often have kitten’s running around in the warehouse. I wouldn’t care!
But, just for the sake of being thoroughly responsible, I’d probably settle for a store that also offered vet and grooming services. This way, I’m not being too hasty in my decision to fill our home with hungry, furry creatures. I already care for a hungry, hairy husband, so I’m well prepared for feeding, snuggling, and cleaning up messes around the house. It’s a win win!
If I picked the right store for said shopping spree, I’d make short work of all their departments, from the pet food and supply section, to lawn and garden, and a full walk through of the clothing and camping section. Before taking my bounty home, there would be full memberships in a lifetime supply of pet care and grooming services. Now my fur babies would be set for life!
You know, if it was a decent size store, maybe they’d have those prebuilt little garden sheds, too… I need room for my other hobbies, as well as, my Easy-Bake Oven.
If a fellow shooter, like myself, were the one asking, I’d say that it really gets on my nerves if they keep asking whether I brought enough bullets. Duh! I’ve three different weapons, all taking a different gauge ammunition, plus a compression bow. For the bow, I make my own poison tipped arrows. I keep a full quiver of those, at all times!
If it’s a child doing the talking, the last thing I wish to hear from the back seat is “are we there yet?” It feels somewhat like Chinese water torture, if I’m to give an actual descriptor.
If the questioner is your boss, most likely it’d be something akin to that child’s question. The adult version would be, “are you finished with that paperwork I gave you?” The difference between the two questions is that one annoys, while the other causes anxiety, or possibly visa versa. Maybe both, depending on the boss, or on which child was tormenting you from the back seat!
But, what if you’re the fellow, the child, or the boss? What about them?
I suppose if I were the fellow shooter, it’d be really aggravating to be asked why I forgot all my ammo? Trader Rect’s prices feel like Zombie highway robbery!
Gaining the perspective of a child, I’d guess that the most hated question might be, “have you finished cleaning your room?” Don’t blame the child because grown ups buy too much stuff. There’s never enough room in that bottom drawer for cramming things. While that question seems right on point, for today’s prompt, I can’t help but think on a couple good runner ups. There’s “Have you finished your homework?, Did you take out the trash yet?, or Is the dishwasher emptied?”
Considering what it’d be like as the boss, one would assume the dreaded questions would be along the lines of, “Can I take the day off?, or Can I leave early?” I imagine other questions and requests floating through the office, but as the boss, I’d be very grateful to have a decent HR department, for forwarding all those annoying questions to someone else to answer. That’s what I pay them for, right?!
Why did I write out this lengthy answer to the prompt, you may be asking yourselves?
Well, as I mostly write, study scripture, and play computer games with fictional characters, I don’t have any real questions that bother me. So I tried to assume what it’d feel like if I were in the shoes of those who do spend more time around others.
There you have it folks! A long winded answer to a question you never asked me in the first place. It’s sort of funny how we all read each others answers to a computer generated prompt. I will admit, though, sometimes creating random answers to the more ridiculous questions is fun. At least I make myself laugh, so there’s that!
Plus, you get a cookie out of the deal, so it’s not a total loss…
Eustace is so proud of his corn crop that he’s already set up a popcorn stand to sell his wares. I tried to tell him that the corn hasn’t been harvested yet, nor is it ready to be picked, but he was just too excited.
Now all my popcorn’s missing, and one of my good slippers is stuck to the kitchen floor, somehow.
Just out of curiosity, does anybody know how to get caramel out of camel fur?
I remember the days before technology allowed kids to spend 6 hours straight in an automobile Movie Theatre, laps filled with juice boxes and snack bags. Nope! I don’t even think I ever saw the inside of a car seat! Just our old station wagon, with parents in the front comfortably seated, while we all were stuffed into the back rows.
The only theatre entertainment we saw, was the live action movie of one of the two grown ups in the front, trying rather unsuccessfully to smack us for one reason or another! Our little ears were unceremoniously greeted with the musical threats of the time… some of the greatest hits to listen to were, If I Have To Come Back There, sung by the driver, or Just You Wait Til We Get Home, played by the assistant driver.
What were we to do for entertainment, as well as for our survival? After we tired of picking on each other, as no parent ever stopped the car for the child who cried, Mom, he won’t stop poking me… we looked for games that kept our attentions. We couldn’t play the “That’s who you’re gonna marry”, as we were not stuck in the parking lot of a grocery store, while our parents sought peaceful shelter within the local food mart! When the car is careening down the highway, kids had to get creative!
There were three games we could play for some much needed automobile on-board entertainment…
I’m Going on a Picnic! In this game, since we didn’t have those snacks and drinks, one would call out an item they would take to eat if they could. There was a catch, however, as the next kid had to figure out why that item was chosen, and add an item that matched. It might be the color of the food, or perhaps its shape, flavor or the way it was prepared and packaged. The goal was to figure out the common denominator and add to the picnic.
I Spy With My Little Eye! One child would select something within sight of the car, and then give clues to the others, as to what they were looking at. One could ask about size, color, shape or use… things like that, until someone figured it out.
Punch Bug! This game was usually toward the end of the car ride, as by now we really didn’t like each other very much, there was nothing else to do, and it was a free chance to hit each other. This was a savored game and we saved up all our personal traveling grievances for the opportune DOUBLE PUNCH BUG attack!
So, here ya have it folks… If I were riding in an automobile, my opening sentence would most likely be “Yellow Cloth Top PUNCH BUG!” I’m very talented in using my middle knuckle when I tag your thigh, as it leaves the perfect little round bruise for later.
Yes, I am aware of what the prompt asked us today, but as this is the second attempt at sticking their nose into my business, I chose to write my response the way I wished. If they are so interested in my Autobiography, they can buy the book when it’s released and read the answer there… just sayin.
While I COULD wile away the hours here, for your sake I won’t. Why? Because I actually DO have a brain!
But, the prompt did ask what three objects I couldn’t live without. Well, the first thing that came to mind was my brain. Without a brain, which is the central nervous system for this flesh mech, I, just like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, would simply hang limp on a pole in a corn field.
The second object that’s a must-have for survival, again, can be answered by one of the characters from that old movie, The Wizard of Oz. Remember the Tin Man? Without a heart to pump blood throughout the body, nourishing all of the precious organs that make us flux an flow, we would simply break down, shrivel up and cease to exist!
While I realize you were expecting me to call up the cowardly Lion for my third object needed, I think his courage actually came from his heart, so those two sort of go hand in hand, in my humble opinion. I’m going to call upon our beloved Dorothy… and her little dog too!
What is this thing that I am eluding too? Lungs! How on earth would Dorothy, or Toto for that matter, be a proper example of lungs, you may be asking? Judy Garland, who played the role of Dorothy, had an amazing singing voice, did she not? And, Toto had the ability to bark, which he did a great amount of, in order to protect and save the group of adventurers on several occasions. I am pretty confident in thinking that they both had a decent set of pipes!
Don’t ask me why The Wizard of Oz was the first thing that popped into my head when I read this mornings Daily Prompt question… I’ve no earthly idea.
But, you do have to admit that it worked pretty well. And, I’m being fully honest in choosing a brain, a heart and lungs as the three objects I couldn’t live without. I’m fairly certain that none of us would get along without them, don’t you agree?
In truth, I can get along without every other earthly object if it came down to brass tacks, as they say.
Here, have an apple. I promise, the trees won’t throw them at you…
You know that feeling you get when stepping off of a moving object? That feeling of unsteadiness, while your brain tries to stop things from moving, so that you can stand upright. Or, maybe you’ve played that crazy game, where you spin yourself around and then try to run a sack race, or something of that nature.
Some folks feel dizzy, while others may feel a bit queasy. I have decided to label this feeling as being discombobulated. I am striving to become a Word Smith, you know.
While it is a rather big word, sometimes those other words just don’t do justice to the depth and meaning of what you’re experiencing. Being that I am quite small, and I also feel both dizzy and queasy on this ride, little words just don’t feel as fitting as discombobulated. Why is that?
Well, let’s ask at Mr. McGoogle about our word of the week…
AI Overview
Discombobulated is an informal American English adjective meaning completely confused, frustrated, upset, or disorganized. It describes a state of being thrown off-kilter, bewildered, or severely disoriented. The term originated in the early 19th century as a playful, nonsensical variant of words like “discompose”.
Key details about “discombobulated”:
Pronunciation: Dis-com-bob-u-lay-ted (stress on “bob”).
Usage Examples: “I felt totally discombobulated after the long flight”; “The speaker was discombobulated by the hecklers”.
Context: It is often used to describe a, mental state of confusion or a situation that is in disarray.
I suppose that one wouldn’t use this word as a descriptor, if they actually enjoyed being spun around in circles, clinging to anything that might keep them from being catapulted off the ride. Ummmmm…. duh! I’m an ant! If I get tossed off the ride, things get pretty painful, if you know what I mean. The only successful flight I’ve ever taken was on that floating Dandelion, remember?
My next thought, or question, if you will, is to wonder what-if about those times where the ride doesn’t make you feel queasy. What do we call those times where the dizziness and tummy flip-flops bring forth excitement, happiness, and joy? Let’s ask…
AI Overview
Discombobulated means to be confused, frustrated, or upset. It describes a state of being unsettled, scattered, or not fully coherent. Its opposites include terms that signify being calm, organized, and focused, such as composed, organized, calm, clearheaded, or collected.
Top Antonyms (Opposites):
Composed/Calm/Collected: Remaining steady and unruffled.
Organized/Systematic: Having things in order, as opposed to scattered.
Clearheaded/Focused: Able to think clearly.
Oriented: Knowing where you are and what is happening.
Level-headed: Being in control and rational.
Note: While “combobulate” is sometimes used humorously, it is not considered a formal, standard English word.
Well, that’s rude!
The English language has rules, exceptions, and uses for making valid counter words for things like Famous, and Infamous, remember?! And now they say that combobulate can’t be used as an actual counter word… rubish!
I, Lilly, the flying journalist, shall now dub our positive counter word to be Probobulated!
Wiwohka Overview
Probobulated – means to be happily surrendered, freely un-frustrated, and miles away from agitated. The word signifies composure, organization, calmness, clear-headedness, and/or being collected. It describes a state of being moldable, softened, and full of faith. It’s opposites include terms that signify confusion, frustration, or being upset.
I wonder how hard it would be to convince Merriam-Webster to accept my new word? Perhaps if a few of you suggested it, as well as myself, we might just enact some future changes for the betterment of all mankind.
Why not?
It could happen, you know. We just need to science it out, first.
As a parent, we all know that when your kids are not making noise, it never bodes well! When it gets silent… we usually go looking for the noise makers that are now abnormally quiet!
Not my parents… no no… somehow, they were never really concerned about where we were, or what we were doing. Due to this lack of supervision, we tended to get into trouble.
Some time ago, I shared a funny story about how we let nearly 2 dozen baby mice loose in the house by accident, only to have my mother discover the mass graveyard in between the cushions of her favorite couch, some months later!
There was also the time when I was riding on the back of my brothers bike and he nearly decapitated me while trying to cut through a trailer park that had one of those steel cords strung across the driveway! Try explaining the burn mark to my parents… there aren’t many believable stories to cover over what looked like an attempted murder.
Then there was the time we tied helium balloons around our cats tails and they tore through the house in terror, knocking over anything that wasn’t nailed down… that was a crazy mess! We hadn’t thought about how hard it would be, recapturing the the little fur balls, in order to remove said balloons.
Anyway, I think you can see a picture developing in your minds, as to how unsupervised we were, thereby providing ample time for one of our best DIY projects!
My brother was about 9 and I was barely 7, when we came up with an idea to build a fort, but not just any fort… we needed a secret one! The problem lay in the fact that we lived in Eastern Oregon… hot, dry, and flat, with no trees available for making into forts!
What’s a kid going to do? If you can’t build up, then the logical thing to do is to build down… but where?
We decided among ourselves that the back yard seemed the best place to work, because no one went back there and it was easy to hear my mom call us in for dinner.
At first it was easy to cover the hole with the grass we had cut out for digging down underground, but eventually we had to steal a plank of wood to lay over the hole, covering that with the grass. We had nearly dug up against the foundation of the house, before anyone noticed the mounds of dirt we had been throwing willy nilly over the backyard fence.
Yup!
Got our hind ends paddled and the hole was caved in, refilled and the grass restored.
If you’re thinking that this was the end of our DIY ing… think again, my friends!
All true DIY ers know the golden rule… if you fail the first time… try, try again! And again, we did!
We simply moved our construction zone further out into the desert behind the neighborhood we lived in at the time.
First, we set to work digging down nearly 6 feet, carving out steps for us to climb up and down out of the hole. From there we dug straight in nearly 15 feet before carving out a hobbit house sized hole under the desert above us. We took the dirt from the hole and spread it all over the area nearby, so that there would be no mounds to be seen by spying eyes; lessons had been learned from our first attempt. We spent nearly a week sneaking blankets, toys, food and water from our home, to stock our new underground bunker.
It wasn’t until my brother got a spanking for stealing candy out of the cupboard, and angrily running away to hide in the tunnel, that anybody had any reason to go looking for our hideaway. All the grown-ups cornered me and questioned if I knew where he was, scaring me into giving up the coordinates of our outlaw camp… the gig was up!
It was a good thing that we were in the heat of summer, when there was no rain to fill the hole and drown us, or worse yet, cave in on us. I will never forget the look of shock, surprise, fear, and awe on my stepdads face as he climbed 6 feet down into our DIY creation. He was both impressed and terrified at what we’d managed to do without accidentally killing ourselves. But he also never trusted us again, regularly patrolling the property and surrounding areas, and locking up all of his tools!
What can I say… if I’m gonna DIY something, I say, “go big or go home!”
You thought Mary Poppins came up with the most nonsensical, and difficult word to say out loud. I beg to differ!
While Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious might take us on a fabulous carousel ride, this next word will take us for a somewhat different journey. What is this word in which I speak? Let me check google for the correct spelling, as it’s a doozey!
Juxtaposition!
Personally, I find it easier to remember the song by Julie Andrews about her super word, comparatively. At least she used a great song to help remember how it’s pronounced! Unfortunately for both words, breaking things down to each’s roots can be a fantastical journey, in and of itself! But, as I’m a staunch supporter of the English language, no matter how ludicrous it may seem, I shall press on for all our sakes!
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.”the juxtaposition of these two images”
So, the definition’s great and all, but I wonder where it originated from? Here’s something that makes me laugh. We are reading, writing, and speaking an English word that originated from two differing languages, neither coming from our home land.
Juxta comes from Latin, and position comes from the French… go figure!
So, in order to speak in English form correctly, apparently, one must first pilfer all it’s bits and pieces from other languages. The whole robbing Peter to pay Paul thing, I surmise. Maybe that’s the reason English is such a complicated language, with all sorts of rules, exceptions, and spelling bonanzas, but I’m only speculating.
For the last several days, I’ve been attempting to find uses for this extravagant word, in replacement of simpler terms. Not only is it rather stupid, as very few people even use it nowadays, but it just seems over lengthy for no apparent reason.
Why can’t we keep things simple?
Just say, “Hey, those two things are different” verses the alternative…
“The juxtaposition of two such facts seemed to me auspicious. The juxtaposition of those two is comprehensible. The juxtaposition of the two names was probably not accidental. The juxtaposition of the two items suggested a programming muddle.
It seems to me that they added more big words, with each passing sentence. Great! Now we have to look up auspicious and comprehensible, as well. Nope!
Until somebody can come up with songs for all these fancy words, I’m sticking with my favorite Mary Poppins word!
Journey With Me! 